Mansureh Kargar; Zeinab Jafarian; Mohadeseh Ehsani
Abstract
For the scientific and accurate management of rangeland ecosystems, having information about ecosystem as indicators of ecosystem health and function is needed. The aim of this research is to study the effects of grazing on soil surface indicators and rangeland functional properties by using Landscape ...
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For the scientific and accurate management of rangeland ecosystems, having information about ecosystem as indicators of ecosystem health and function is needed. The aim of this research is to study the effects of grazing on soil surface indicators and rangeland functional properties by using Landscape Functional Analysis (LFA) method. For this purpose, the present study was conducted in two regions, including the enclosure and outside the enclosure, Donna rangelands of Siah Bisheh watershed. Systematic sampling was carried out by three 100 m transects with 100 m interval. Along each transect, ten 1m2 plots with 10 m interval were placed. In order to compare triple indices including infiltration, stability and nutrient cycling in two regions of the enclosure and outside the enclosure, the independent T test was employed in this study. The results showed that there are significant differences among soil surface indicators except soil surface cover, perennial plants, trees and shrubs canopy, surface roughness and erosion type and severity (P < 0.05). Therefore, there are significant differences among three functional attributes of rangeland in these study regions.
Sana Mohebbi; Ghasem Ali Dianati Tilaki; Mehdi Abedi
Abstract
Assessment of rangeland ecological characteristics have been proposed as an important factor inreviewing and monitoring the effects of various management measures and it demands differenttools for quantifying and offering a reasonable criterion for comparison of different managements.For this purpose, ...
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Assessment of rangeland ecological characteristics have been proposed as an important factor inreviewing and monitoring the effects of various management measures and it demands differenttools for quantifying and offering a reasonable criterion for comparison of different managements.For this purpose, the Landscape Function Analysis (LFA) method is capable of displaying thestructural and functional status of pastureland with considering the basic and simple indicators andit can be resorted to as a basis for selecting optimal and sustainable management. In this study, itwas found out that among different types of pasture management in Kojour Noshahr including;exclosure, grazing, plowing and planting management - in almost identical conditions regardingplant types, animal types, soil, geology, and climate the exclosure management was significantly(P<0/05) more favorable than other kinds of managements in terms of structural and functionalfeatures and it was followed by planting and grazing. Meanwhile, the plowed pastures weresignificantly unfavorable (P<0/05) both in terms of structural features and functional characteristics.Therefore; exclosure can be a perfect option to protect rangeland resources in this region.
